What is Patriotism?

Actress Sandra Oh reads the speech given by Anarchist Emma Goldman in San Francisco before the United States entered WWI. Part of a reading from Voices of a People's History of the United States given October 5, 2005 in Los Angeles California (Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove.)

Song: Running Up That Hill. (Instrumental)
By: Placebo.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• MindCrimesInc
• Emma
• Goldman
• Patriotism
• Sandra
• Oh
• Howard
• Zinn
• Anthony
• Arnove

[JustForRandomComment]

"And they will say to their masters, "Go and do your own killing, we have done it long enough for you!"

Umm... last time I looked, everyone in the U.S. military voluntarily joined up... That's like getting a job as a secretary and one day saying to your boss, "Answer your own phone calls, I have done it long enough for you!"

[MindCrimesInc]

@JustForRandomComment Most of the U.S military didn't join up to kill innocent people and fight in unjust wars. Let's say you take a kid that signed his life over to fight terrorism, send him to Iraq, give him a gun and order him to kill any man women or child that they see because they "might" have a gun, a bomb, a rock. After being ordered to kill innocent human beings for years on end, their patriotism withers away and they say enough is enough this isn't why I joined. Cont -->

[MindCrimesInc]

@MindCrimesInc Cont... Patriotism's a tool used on the weak minded. As far as the job example you used gos, If a boss hires you as an engineer and then makes you answer phones all day, which isn't why you joined the company, I can see how one would say "Answer your own phone calls, I have done it long enough for you! I quit." This is a better example of what the military does. Hires you as a peacekeeper but then makes you murder innocent people and turns you into a killer.

[mdalton7272]

My vocabulary is fine, my use of the english language is fine, yet you continue to attack me as if I am stupid or beneath you in some way. Listen, if you are so intelligent and I am so stupid, why would you continue to write me and put me down like your Father did to you all these years. Seems like I have hit a nerve with you somewhere and to that I am glad...if I see you in the street in one of these protests (I have your photo from your videos)...you will wish this INTERNET thing was reality

[MindCrimesInc]

@mdalton7272 I attacked you? That's rich. All one has to do is read over the sequence of post between you and I and know you're full of shit, Slick. You came on here running your mouth, name calling, making baseless accusations, trying to label me like you know me and trying to insult me every chance you get all because you don't like my video. I just gave you a dose of your own medicine. Deal with it. You have some growing up to do for being 38. Oh BTW, I'm not in any of my videos... idiot. ;)

[MindCrimesInc]

@patriotfreedomfigher I'm not saying you're a tool because you love your country, what I am trying to say is that our Government uses patriotism's Ideology as a tool for their tribal war games. Just look at how Bush used it to rally the people behind a war for resources not to protect our country like they said. Again, I don't think your the tool, I think the ideology is being used as a tool by the very people(Washington fat cats) trying to ruin what some of us have tried to protect.

[patriotfreedomfigher]

a patriot is not a blind fool who listens and obays his country, thats a tool/sheep.

its one who loves his country, and wants whats best for it, such as peace and prospairity. i love my country but not my goverment, i hate the fact that my constitution is nothing but toilet paper now. im a patriot, not a tool

[PlaguedMan]

Patriotism exists only in your imagination.

[tlandoe]

I saw her boobs once

[jokerisnomak]

what she has described is not the logic of patriotism

[Darusdei]

@MindCrimesInc i remember when i served in my country's military, i came to conclusion that i will not swear allegiance to any nation...

[JustForRandomComment]

@JustForRandomComment (Continued) Besides, being a grunt is not the only job in the military. More than likely, if someone has a gun and is told to kill, that is because they did not want another job. Yes, there are a percentage of people who get stuck with it because they couldn't get into the one they wanted, but that is nowhere near a majority. Their are thousands of jobs that are easy to get that do NOT involve holding a gun.

[JustForRandomComment]

@JustForRandomComment (continued) but you had better pray to God that nobody saw you do it,or their is a 99% chance that you would be in BIG trouble. There are VERY strict protocols in place. If the enemy is not actively shooting at you there is a process you must go through to get permission to shoot. Even for people operating drones. My information comes directly from MANY military personnel, retired and still in service, and not just false, ignorant assumption. (cont)

[JustForRandomComment]

@MindCrimesInc "give him a gun and order him to kill any man women or child that they see because they "might" have a gun, a bomb, a rock."

Yeah, that's not *quite* how that works. EODs have a dangerous job: a bomb they are working on can be detonated by someone in the area with a cell phone or a remote garage door opener. If you shoot someone with such a device, there is perhaps a 99% chance that their only purpose was to detonate the explosive, (cont)